1910 | Daimler 16 HP

To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' Cliveden House event, 8 July 2025.
Offered Without Reserve | £40,000 - £60,000 GBP

• Fascinating known original ownership history
• Formerly owned by noted early collector John Cuthill Sword
• A participant in Veteran Car Club events since the late-1940s; dated in 1950
• A marvellous Daimler of impressive quality and great character

Please note the historic V5C present in the history file is titled as 1921.

According to the recollections on file of former owner William Oldham, this impressive Edwardian Daimler was purchased new by the wealthy Sir Frederick Eckstein. He used it mainly for additional touring and fishing expeditions in Scotland. During World War I, the original front wings were updated as they remain today. After Sir Frederick’s death, his son Sir Bernard inherited the Daimler and used it mainly to drive around the family estate, Oldlands Hall in north Uckfield, East Sussex.

At Sir Bernard’s passing, the contents of the estate were auctioned in 1949. Mr Oldham acquired the motorcar “still in its original [grey] paint, it was lined in lavender and real gold leaf and very very smart it looked”. Following radiator repairs, Mr Oldham had the car dated by the Veteran Car Club and used it in many rallies, noting that it was capable of running at close to 50 mph, and that the only modification in his ownership was resizing of the wheels to accommodate available tyres.

In the spring of 1951, the Daimler was acquired by Eric Goodey, who not long thereafter sold it to John Cuthill Sword, the Scottish rail magnate who built one of the world’s major collections of vintage automobiles. Like most collectors Mr Sword had his eccentricities, one of which was that he refused to own a green car—the varnish on the paint having yellowed and turned it in a lime colour—and thus had it refinished. It remained in his collection until his death, and was sold at the second of its dispersal auctions in 1964 to A Davies, the first of a series of short-time owners through the 1970s, many of whom are recorded on the car’s surviving “buff” logbook.

Horace Douglas Richings of West Bridgford, Nottingham, acquired the Daimler in 1980. Two years later, it was acquired by the late Jim Boland. In his care it has continued to be used in events, including the VCC Isle of Man Rally in 1991—in which it completed the Tourist Trophy route around the isle without fault! Please note, following a period of static display in more recent years, it is recommended that the car is inspected by a mechanic prior to being driven.

This is a Daimler of charm and quality, with the impeccable sleeve-valve engineering renowned to the marque, and just the right amount of patina to appeal to the enthusiast collector—a person of the same stripe as Eckstein, Oldham, Goodey, Sword, and certainly Boland.

Please note this lot has entered the UK on a temporary import bond, which must be cancelled either by exporting the lot outside of the UK on an approved Bill of Lading with supporting customs documentation or by paying the applicable VAT and import duties to have the lot remain in the UK.


To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/ch25/.